Azumurder Daioh 2
by Rick Danger
Summary: Chiyo has been kidnapped by Kaorin's murderer. Now Sakaki, Osaka, Tomo, Yomi and Kagura must find her before her fate and Kaorin's become one in the same. Part 2 in the everexpanding Azumurder Daioh series. Rated T for slight coarse language. Just in case
1. Westward Bound

"So," said Kagura, "Now we at least know where Chiyo _isn't_, right?" Yomi nodded,

"We need to keep tracking this guy down!" Tomo blurted, "We're pretty sure he murdered Kaorin, right" the others nodded, "So he obviously likes cute, young girls and young women, right?" the others nodded again, "_So_," Tomo continued, "He's probably going to kill Chiyo-Chan if we don't rescue her soon!" Sakaki looked as though she were about to start crying. Yomi acted quickly, double chopping Tomo as she had been doing several times daily,

"Don't talk like that, Tomo!" She cried, "As far as we know, Chiyo-Chan is alive and well! Saying she's dead is as bad as killing her!" Tomo didn't quite understand,

"But you've got to admit, it a possib—"

"Shut up!" cried Yomi and Kagura together,

"Well," Osaka said. Everyone rolled their eyes, this was going to be another of Osaka's crazy ramblings, wasn't it? "Chiyo was being held in that warehouse by the waterfront, _right_?" Nobody was really listening, but they nodded, "Well," She continued, "Maybe we should go check it out further, I mean, we really only looked in the front." Everyone paused. Did that come from Osaka? She seemed to be getting smarter since she moved away to university, "Who knows?" she said, "There might be some secret room in the back or something full of, like, cats or something!" Sakaki imagined Osaka opening a door and having a thousand cats pouring out onto the floor. She blushed. Yomi, Tomo and Kagura looked disappointed, it was going so well and then she had to go say something absurd like that.

"I agree with Osaka." Said Sakaki,

"About the room full of cats?" Tomo queried. Sakaki shook her head,

"Not about the cats, but about checking it out further. We may be able to find something."

The five of them walked through the warehouse,

"Looks like they cleared out pretty well." Said Tomo, walking into the dining room, "But look at this rug, this is a nice rug." Osaka, meanwhile, was off in the corner, looking at something in her hands,

"What's that?" asked Yomi. Osaka held it up for Yomi to inspect more closely,

"A note." Said Osaka. It was indeed a note, the others gathered and Osaka read it aloud:

"West? That's it? West? Real helpful, Chiyo." Tomo said, exasperatedly. Kagura took the note,

"What's that at the bottom?" she asked to whoever was listening to her thoughts, "i…ki…a…Ikea?"

"Chiyo's being held in Ikea?" asked Tomo. Yomi sighed,

"I'm guessing she's talking about the Ikea storage warehouse on the west side of town." She said, "Wait, the west side of town! We need to get going!"

Meanwhile, Chiyo was in the Ikea warehouse,

"Do you like your new outfit, Neko-Chan?" asked her Master, "It makes you look so adorable." Chiyo smiled weakly. Being scared for your life every day could really tire a girl out. This man had already revealed to her that he had killed Kaorin because she had displeased him so Chiyo was trying extra hard to keep him happy, even though it meant letting him do things that she had sworn she would never speak of,

"Thank you, Master." She said. He had given her a new dress that morning. It was pink and white like the other one but this one was in the style of a French maid; it had a little lace apron and lace trim around the bottom of the skirt and sleeves.

"Be careful, Neko-Chan," Said her Master "You're stepping on your tail." Chiyo gasped and quickly moved her foot to the left, her tail jingled as the bell at the end was released from under Chiyo's weight. Her Master smiled and ran the back of his hand along her cheek, "I'm so glad I have you, Neko-Chan," he said, "None of the others were as obedient or as lovely as you, darling." Chiyo shuddered, trying to keep up the façade of quiet obedience,

"Thank you, Master." She said again. It had been just under a week since she had left the other warehouse and at this point she was sure her friends had not gotten her message. She had resigned herself to her fate of being a cat servant to this pervert.

Sakaki, Yomi, Kagura, Tomo and Osaka sat on the train on the way to the warehouse,

"You don't suppose they moved again." Said Osaka,

"They haven't!" said Kagura, "They're still there, they don't know we're on to them yet."

"Oh." Osaka said, staring blankly out the opposite window.

The five searched the warehouse but found nothing,

"Where are they?" cried Sakaki, overturning a box of bed frames in an uncommon act of rage. Sakaki continued to destroy property in a frantic search for her friend. The others looked on in horror, what had happened to the Sakaki they had known for so long? Finally, Sakaki broke down in tears on the ground,

"Where are they? Where is that son of a bitch?" she cried. Everyone wanted to comfort her, but only Osaka was either brave enough or stupid enough, they couldn't tell which, to approach her.

"It's okay," Osaka said, her face taking on a hardened expression, "We're going to find her. We've got to." Sakaki dried her eyes and looked up at Osaka, she could see that they shared the same goal. Still, it seemed so far away.

"Come on, you two." Said Tomo, "We've got a Chiyo to find!"


	2. Operation: NekoChan

"Have I told you how beautiful you are, Neko-Chan?" Asked Chiyo's Master, smiling at her across the supper table that Chiyo had come to know all too well,

"It is always appreciated, Master." Chiyo replied, picking at the small tubes of pasta on her plate. Her Master looked concerned,

"You are not eating, Neko-Chan." he said, "Does the food displease you?" Chiyo gasped, suddenly looking attentive,

"No, no, Master," she said, hastily, holding her hands up as though she were surrendering, "It's not that at all. Master's food is always wonderful. It's just that Master was kind enough to allow me to sleep late today and so it doesn't feel like supper time for me yet." Chiyo's master smiled,

"Well, I'm glad at that, Neko-Chan." He took another bite of his pasta and a sip of his wine. That seemed to give him an idea, "Neko-Chan," he said, looking at his glass quizzically, "This wine if fantastic." Chiyo was unsure of what he was getting at,

"That's good. Would you like me to top off your glass?" the Master laughed,

"No, no, Neko-Chan." He chuckled even as he spoke, "I'm offering you a glass. You must relax more, Neko-Chan." Chiyo gulped nervously. She was pretty sure that this man was trying to get her drunk, but she didn't think she could refuse either. She wanted to spit in his face and stomp on his toes and tell him that what he was doing was absolutely despicable, but instead she thanked him.

Chiyo returned to her quarters that night, kneeled down beside her bed and wept, burying her face in the comforter, which she had not found at all comforting during her stay. She hated this man, this 'Master' character, for what he was doing. She hated herself even more for going along with it. What sick dreams he had. She thought back to that night's events,

"I've always loved the thought of myself rescuing a girl in distress." He said when he brought her to his office as he did most nights, "So Yuichi is going to pretend to mug you." He had made it seem like the most normal thing in the world, telling his guard to sit on top of Chiyo and pretend to beat her while she pretended to scream. The Master would arrive just in time and rescue Chiyo, fighting Yuichi back and winning the poor damsel's heart. Unfortunately, Chiyo had squirmed in a way she was not supposed to. She rubbed the bandages adorning her left side, from the top of her shoulder down to the top of her chest. Her eyes welled up once again, but she knew that crying wouldn't help.

Meanwhile, the others were still searching the warehouse. Unfortunately finding nothing. Everyone noticed Sakaki becoming more and more crazed with every moment that Chiyo remained missing. Osaka seemed to be the only one capable of standing within ten feet of her. Somehow, thought the others, her sheer spacey-ness seemed to block out the waves of rage and frustration generated by Sakaki's presence,

"Sakaki-San," Osaka called, "Look at this! I think I found something!" Sakaki looked up from a pile of boxes, face brightening. She rushed to her friend. It seemed Osaka could only see paper because she seemed to be holding some kind of drawing,

"It's a blueprint, Sakaki!" she said, looking extremely pleased with herself, "I think it'll help." Sakaki looked at the print. She studied it for some time before being confronted by Tomo,

"Maybe we should go back to your house," she said, "Look it over back there." Sakaki nodded,

"It's been a long day."

Back at Sakaki's house, the five began plotting their Chiyo-retrieving scheme. The blueprint laid out in the middle of the living room, each girl studied it carefully,

"It looks pretty normal to me." Said Tomo, lying back on her hands. The others nodded, resigning themselves to the fact that this was not a secret blueprint, just the regular kind. That was when Yomi saw it,

"What's this?" she pointed at a blank spot on the print. It was still walled in but had no label. Kagura leaned forward,

"Could be nothing." She said, "Maybe it's just a mistake in the printing."

"Or maybe," Tomo cut in, "That's where they're keeping Chiyo-Chan!"

"Hold on a minute there, Tomo." Said Yomi, placing a hand on Tomo's shoulder, "We don't know for sure yet, we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like that."

"We _have_ to jump to conclusions, Yomi!" cried Tomo, stamping her hands down on the ground, "If no one ever jumped to conclusions, we wouldn't have inventions!" Kagura sighed,

"Yes we would, stupid!" she said, "We just wouldn't have _good_ inventions!" Yomi and Sakaki sighed,

"You're _both_ stupid!" Said Sakaki. The five of them eventually crept off to bed, after quite a few more arguments.

"Neko-Chan," a sharp knock came at Chiyo's door in the morning, "Your breakfast is ready." Chiyo rolled out of bed and stood quickly, "Are you dressed, Neko-Chan?" the voice asked at the other side of the door. Chiyo threw on her robe before answering that she was. The door opened and Chiyo's Master entered,

"Good morning, Master," Chiyo said, "What brings you here this morning?"

"You seemed lethargic at supper yesterday. I wanted you to wake up early  
"Thank you, Master." Chiyo bowed and her Master allowed her to dress in peace. Chiyo was now completely certain that her friends didn't know where she was or that they had given up looking all together. She didn't even bother to be scared for her life anymore. None of it mattered. She walked down the hall with her Master a few moments later to the breakfast room where, again she barely ate. It continued like this for days. Chiyo was beginning to lose hope,

"Neko-Chan, you're growing so thin and pale," Her Master remarked one evening in his chamber, "I worry you'll fade away right in front of my eyes."

"Do we know what we're doing?" Asked Kagura, anxiously, "I mean, we've been over this a million times, but do we really know how to make this work?"

"Nope." Sakaki answered, point blank, "But I don't think we have any better ideas." They went over their plan once more. Tomo and Osaka would cause a diversion in the front of the warehouse; tipping boxes and making noise. Meanwhile, Sakaki and Kagura would sneak in through the garbage disposal chute listed in the blueprint that lead right into the kitchen of the secret building. Kagura would stay outside and keep watch, communicating with the others via walkie-talkie. They stood outside the warehouse, it had been almost two weeks since Chiyo's capture and they knew it was probably now or never,

"Lupin, Space Ranger, are you in position? Over." Kagura whispered sharply into the walkie-talkie,

"Roger, Beans 'n' Rice! Over." Osaka replied,

"Begin phase of one of Operation: Neko-Chan. Over." Sakaki ordered,

"Beginning phase one of Operation: Neko-Chan," Tomo said. A loud crash could be heard resounding through the warehouse, "Lupin and Space Ranger, over and out." Tomo took another flying kick at a pile of boxes. Osaka turned to her,

"Why is my nickname Space Ranger? I'm not an astronaut!" Tomo rolled her eyes and tipped an entire shelf full of boxes.

Meanwhile, Chiyo stumbled back into her bedroom. It had been a particularly rough night with the Master, not that it mattered anyway. Chiyo pulled something from under her petticoat. Something long, black and metallic,

"I'm sorry, Yuichi-San," she said, putting the muzzle of the gun to her temple, "I hope you don't mind my borrowing this for a while." A single tear ran down Chiyo's cheek. It was hopeless. Her friends weren't coming, she was sure of it, and she didn't think she could live much longer here with the Master. She realized at that moment how cold it was in her room. She felt weak with fever. She pressed the gun to her temple once more.

_BANG!_


	3. Chiyo's Back

_BANG!_

The sound resounded throughout the room as Chiyo fell to the ground, her head was bleeding but the gun had not been fired. No, it lay on the bed where Chiyo had dropped it. Instead, what had made the sound was the door being knocked clean off its hinges. Sakaki stood where the door had been, her hand extended. She had not expected it to give quite so easily and was a little shocked. Then she saw Chiyo lying on the ground,

"Chiyo-Chan!" she called, kneeling on the round and picking up her friend's limp body in her arms,

"Sa…ka…ki." Chiyo muttered. Sakaki's ears perked up. Footsteps! She slung Chiyo into a piggyback and ran,

"Beans 'n' Rice, Beans 'n' Rice," she screamed into her walkie-talkie, "This is Kawaii Maya Seven. Over."

"Kawaii Maya, this is Beans 'n' Rice, where is your position?" Kagura demanded,

"I'm headed your way. Pull out Lupin and Space Ranger immediately, part three of Operation: Neko-Chan is complete." Kagura punched her fist in the air in a sign of victory,

"Yes! I'm pulling back Lupin and Space Ranger as we speak. Beans 'n' Rice over and out."

"Over and out." Sakaki parroted. She ran until she reached the same chute through which she had entered. After pushing Chiyo through the small opening, she jumped in herself, slamming the door shut behind her.

Kagura heard knocking in the chute and caught Chiyo just in time. Sakaki followed shortly after, bouncing to the ground on her rear. Osaka and Tomo appeared just after Sakaki,

"Chiyo-Chan!" cried Osaka, rushing up to Kagura who now held their pigtailed friend,

"How is she?" asked Tomo, Sakaki nodded,

"She's okay." Sakaki said, only just realizing what her friend was wearing. Sakaki blushed,

"What _is_ she wearing?" Kagura asked.

Yomi opened the door to Sakaki's house about twenty minutes later,

"Did you find her?" she demanded when Tomo's face appeared on the other side of the door. Tomo moved to the side and let Kagura, who was still holding Chiyo, pass through. Yomi took the girl into her arms,

"She's burning up!" Yomi cried in surprise, "Tomo, go get the broth on the stove. I'll take her upstairs." Yomi brought Chiyo to the guest bedroom and tucked her in under several blankets.

Chiyo awoke, the sun streaming down on her face from the great picture window to her left. Sakaki was sitting at the foot of her bed with a tray. On the tray sat a bowl of steaming liquid and a cup of white rice,

"Good morning, Chiyo-Chan." Sakaki said bringing the food to the nightstand,

"What happened last night, Sakaki-San?" Chiyo asked, "I mean, the last thing I remember is sitting on the bed, then a huge noise and then passing out." Sakaki's eyes welled up, she somehow had the feeling that she had come just in time,

"What's wrong, Sakaki?" Chiyo queried, "Is something the matter?" Sakaki said nothing but wrapped her arms around Chiyo,

"Thank God you're safe." She said, her tears soaking into Chiyo's pajamas. She kissed the top of her friend's head as a sailor would kiss the beach after a particularly bad storm at sea. Chiyo was surprised but patted Sakaki's back, trying to comfort her, though she wasn't sure why. Sakaki left a few minutes later, after ensuring that Chiyo had everything she would need and making sure that her friend understood well that she was to stay in bed. Out in the hallway, Sakaki leaned against the wall and sighed. What was it she was feeling? Relief, yes but something else was there too. A kind of weird happiness that made her insides want to explode. She didn't know what it was, but she did know that it was there and that she had to deal with it.

Chiyo lay in Sakaki's guest bed, staring at the ceiling. She adjusted the cool washcloth lying on her forehead, her cheeks were warm to the touch but she shivered under the blankets. After a while the others started to come visit her,

"Good morning, Chiyo-Chan!" Cried Osaka, happily, "It must have been freezing in there!" she commented as she sat on the edge of the bed. Chiyo smiled faintly and nodded. Osaka talked about all the planning and how Osaka had helped to understand the messages. Chiyo nodded once in a while but couldn't concentrate on Osaka's words. All she could think about was the feeling of cold metal against her temple; the thought that she was about to end it all. Had she really been planning on killing herself? She thought about what she had felt when Sakaki had come to help her. It had been dangerously close to disappointment. But she wasn't suicidal…was she?

**Well, Chiyo's safe, but for how long? The girls are racing to find her kidnapper before he strikes again. Join us next time for "Azumurder on a Train" and "Azumurder in the Rain" the next two parts of the series, coming (relatively) soon!**


End file.
